3/17 Largemouth bass, giant hornets, Métis Nation, Heiltsuk Nation, spot prawns, bird brains and songs

Largemouth bass [WikiMedia Commons]

 

Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides
Largemouth bass is a member of the sunfish family, though larger than those species considered "panfish".  Together with six other species of bass, they make up the group typically known as the black basses.  Other than the largemouth, the only other member of the black basses in Washington is the similar looking smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu. (WDFW)

Washington state, Canada team up to eradicate Asian giant hornets
Wildlife officials in Washington state have said British Columbia and U.S. federal and state agencies will work together to track, trap and eradicate Asian giant hornets in the Pacific Northwest. (Associated Press)

Métis Nation in B.C. votes to declare self-government, with plans to forge new relationship with province
Members of the largest Indigenous nation in the province have voted to declare self-government with the goal of preserving its culture and language for future generations. The vote, held during Métis Nation British Columbia's (MNBC) annual general meeting in February, makes MNBC and its 20,000 registered citizens the official government of the Métis community in B.C. (CBC)

Heiltsuk Nation, federal agencies sign agreement to establish Indigenous marine response team
More than four years after the Nathan E. Stewart disaster on B.C.'s central coast, the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada commit to funding and training Heiltsuk first responders and improving communication and collaboration. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

DFO backtracks on rule that harvesters warned would destroy the local spot prawn industry
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has temporarily pulled back on a change of regulation that small scale harvesters had warned would destroy the local spot prawn industry. Earlier this month, the conservation and protection arm of DFO announced it was changing how it interprets a regulation that would make frozen-at-sea tubs of spot prawns illegal effective immediately. (CBC)

This bird’s brain grows in winter to remember where it stashed its food
...A chickadee will stash food in thousands of hiding spots in the fall. The trick is remembering where they put all that food. Each winter, the hippocampus, the part of the chickadee’s raspberry-sized brain that remembers locations, grows by 30 percent. In the toughest of times, memory means survival. Then in the spring, the chickadees let their bird brains shrink back down to regular size once the livin’ is easy. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)  And:  Regent honeyeater: Endangered bird 'has forgotten its song'  A rare songbird has become so threatened that it has started to lose its song, say scientists. The regent honeyeater, once abundant in south-eastern Australia, is now listed as critically endangered; just 300 individuals remain in the world.  Victoria Gill reports. (BBC)

Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  159 AM PDT Wed Mar 17 2021    TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 6 ft  at 12 seconds.  TONIGHT  N wind to 10 kt becoming E after midnight. Wind waves  2

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told